Camera Repair Search Engine

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Friday, November 30, 2007

Repair tips for digital cameras that won't power on.

For that camera that died, here are some non-intrusive simple fixes that you should try before throwing in the towel. Copied this first post from somewhere. It was a fix for a Canon A520, but am not sure if it would work for other cameras with the same problem? For those of you with a camera that will not power up or turn on, especially if this occurred after a power interruption with your lens extended, please give it a try. If you do, please leave a comment on specifics like your camera make/model, and whether it worked for you or not.

"DEAD CAMERA, LENS OPEN-If the batteries run down completely while the camera is still open, it may not start up again when new batteries are installed. But if you remove the memory card, then install the new batteries, when you turn it on it should come back to life. Error E30 means you don't have a memory card installed, so turn it off, slip in the SD card and turn it on one last time."

OK, so the above didn't work. Next thing to look at are the batteries themselves. Are you using alkaline batteries, or worse yet those "Super Heavy Duty" batteries? If so, betcha we've just discovered your problem. Alkaline and regular "super heavy duty" batteries just don't have the power for more than a few pics in a digital camera. Some may even have problems just powering startup of the camera. It doesn't matter if they're new, and right out of the package. Digital cameras for the most part should only be used with rechargeable NiMH batteries (if you still have your instruction manual, open it to the "batteries" section. Pretty sure you'll see a statement similar to what I've just said). Most retailers sell NiMH batteries for around $7 for a package of four (about $15-19 for the batteries with charger). Keep in mind they'll save you big bucks in the long run over alkalines, AND they'll last for at least 100 pictures per charge (and probably many many more). You'll be very pleased with their performance, and may slap yourself for not buying them sooner. When at the store, look on the package for a power rating of at least 2500 mah.

OK, so maybe those newfangled batteries didn't fix your camera, don't give up just yet. The next thing to check is that your batteries are actually making contact with the battery posts, and that these posts are clean. If not, bend the posts up/down a little, and maybe clean them with a little rubbing alcohol on a Q-tip.

The next thing to try is examine both the battery and flash card door. There's usually a little switch on both doors (note some SD card doors do not have this switch) that activates when the doors are closed. If they don't, the camera won't start to prevent damage to the flash card or camera startup sequence. For most cameras its usually a little piece of plastic on the door that pushes in on a pin switch when the door is closed. Closely examine both doors to try to identify these switches. A lot of times that little plastic nib wears down or breaks off, but can easily be jury rigged with a small glued-on replacement.

Examples of Nibs and Pin Switches

If you've tried all of the above and still no luck, the problem is then likely to be internal to the camera. Am planning on posting sometime in the future some likely things to check, hopefully with a pictoral guide. One example would be that if your camera uses Compact Flash, check to make sure all pins are present and aligned in the card slot (if bent, simply unbend/straighten them with a skinny "jewelers" screwdriver, then insert the flash card for final realignment).

As before, if one of these simple fixes worked in your particular case, please leave a comment on your camera's make, and which fix worked.

221 comments:

Much thanks for the "DEAD CAMERA, LENS OPEN" repair instructions. I have a Canon PowerShot A520 4MP purchased 11/05 (2yrs ago). The power interruption happened so quickly I was hardly aware of it and thought maybe the camera just stopped working. The SD card removal and new battery install worked like a charm! I had it plugged to its AC adapter with no luck (and even pulled out the manual and outdated warranty) until finding your website. I'll be returning for other advice as needed. Sacramento, CA.

My Canon PowerShot A70 died. The fix that worked was bending the contacts for two of the four batteries. A little hard to fashion a tool that would grab the contact at the bottom of the battery chamber, but I got it done. Many thanks.

I own a Nikon 4300 coolpix. Since the time I bought it, I noticed that my close up pictures, had some estrange mark, like a finger print. My low experience in photography told me that was all my fault. After 5 years using it I decided to find the real true. I got he technical manual for this camera and with rubber globes and a lot of patience I decided to find the true. I managed to reach the CCD of the camera and... surprise! In middle of it, was a fingerprint (I assume of the worker who assembled it, CSI would be proud of me).

A probe of the good quality control done in Nikon with his cameras!

At he same time I noticed that the diminute small black frame was freely moving inside the objective, I assumed that it was correct. Once I assembled the camera again everything worked correctly. I had made a test picture before the cleaning of the CCD, I repeated it and now I know that I been taking nice pictures for five years... with a finger print o them. The new picture was sharp and clean, that made me happy.

But my "love" story do not have a nice happy end. I started taking pictures to everything at home and..... tatachan! my camera stoped working and my screen kept telling me to open the objective tap. The problem was that the objective of the camera was out and when I put it of did not return to inside. I suspected that the small black frame had something to do with it. Back to open the camera again, this time I discharged the capacitor (that the first time I did not). Once I reached the objective I found that the small frame had stuck into it. I took the black frame out and I did not put it in again.

I reassembled the camera, installed the battery and automatically the objective went back to its original place. I was happy...not for long, the camera stop working and now is dead.I have opened it once again and checked all point by point, following the repair book (that has small errors) and...nothing.

Can you help me dear camera Repair, or is time for me to bury it in the backyard garden?

Hi, my camera - a sony cybershot carl zeiss camera had a dirty mark on the inside of the lens - here comes the confession - I used a sharp knife to unscrew the screws and prised my camera open, i then pulled out the fiddly lens bits and cleaned my lens (sparkling)when i put it all back together again it won't switch on!!! I press power and nothing happens, what have I done and can I fix it?

Thank you Camera Repair! I have a Canon Powershot a400 and haven't been able to turn it on for months. I could only review the pictures on the memory card, but when I switched to take pictures, the screen would blank out and essentially act like the camera was turned off. I tried your trick of taking out the memory card and starting up the camera in the take pictures mode. The screen turned on, said no memory card, just like you said it would. I then turned it off, replaced the memory card, and the camera is back to normal. Thank you again!

I have a Powershot SD750. Instead of the Alkaline batteries you talked about I have a Canon brand battery pack NB-4L 3.7V 760mAh(Li-ion). My camera won't power on with the lens open. So I followed the instructions, charged the battery completely and put it back in without the memory card. Unfortunatley it still will not power on. If you have any additional imformation about my problem, I would love the feedback. Thanks.

I have the same problem as blackstars890. same camera. tried the same things. and it still won't turn on--Oh my god. WHAT?!it just turned on..while i was typing this. I had charged the battery completely and had inserted it back in without the memory card.But it still wasnt turning on.

But in typing this and letting my camera just sit.. I just tried to turn it on again.just to make sure.

Brilliant! Canon Powershot A510, three years old, happily taking photos when it tells me the batteries are dead. I put in my spare rechargeables, but it tells me again to change the batteries. Since all my rechargeables out of charge, I buy ordinary AA batteries - no joy, apart from the display of previously-taken photos.

Thank goodness, I googled for some help and found exactly the same problem described. Taking out the memory card and then changing to (by now recharged) batteries has done the trick. Thank you so much (though I don't now have an excuse for upgrading camera....!)

I was very happy to your blog. I have a Canon Power shot A 520. The extendable lens is stuck half way out. The camera will power up but will not show any picture. Fairly soon after powering up it will shut down. I tried all that might help solve this problem, do you have any other suggestions?

Laurie,Did you try rechargeable NiMH batteries? And also have you tried starting the camera without the memory card installed? If the answer is yes to both, then you may possibly be experiencing a lens error problem. If so, try the following link:

charlie,No, if the electrical switch itself is missing, then that's a much bigger problem and may require a circuit board replacement. But a more common problem is that the little plastic door nib that pushes in on the switch either breaks off in a fall, or just fails due to fatigue. This is also a much easier problem to fix. Just about anything can be jury rigged to push in on the switch.CR

Hi, I own a Canon PowerShot SD750 like some of the other posters here, and I haven´t found a solution. Same problem - it wont´t turn on - and I´ve tried fully charging the battery, taking out the memory card, everything I can think of. It was working just fine yesterday and I don´t recall anything happening to it.

I shook it to see if anything is loose inside and I hear a slight jingle when the camera is shaken at a certain angle.

Thank you! My old Canon Powershot A95 was not powering up. It ended up being the switch on the battery door. It doesn't slide over like it should but after reading your info I found that if I push the release backward it now sees the door is closed and powers up.

After reading someones comment, I shook my SD750 and heard a very tiny rattle inside as if something was slightly off. The problem with mine is that the battery works and connects just fine. I can check pictures out. But when I try and turn it on, the lens pops out a 1/4" and thats it. However, when I turn it on and it sticks, its when I push the 2nd button from the top (on the backside) does the lens fully extend and immediately retract. So the lens isnt blocked but it just wont turn on other than that quick moment. Any ideas??

Hey guys, good stuff on here. Lemme ask you. I had the whole lens problem and I fixed it by plugging into my TV with the AV cables. Now, whenever I turn it on, it says "change the batteries". I'm using charged NiMH batteries and also tried without the memory card. Now I've been using these batteries for a while, do you think I just need new rechargeable batteries or could it be something else? Thanks ahead of time for any advice.

anonymous and kaiser.Both alkalines and rechargeables go bad with age. Both aren't really meant to last more than a year or two. Even straight out of the package, some may have reached their shelf life just sitting in the store. Similar to milk, they have a "best by" date on the package that you should check before buying.CR

Wow, I had just decided my daughters Canon SD750 was hooped so I went out and bought a new one for her Christmas present. Then I decided to see if there were any repair fixes for a "stuck" lens. I tried your trick of removing the memory card then inserting the recharged battery. As soon as I turned the unit on the lens retracted. I next put the card back in and it worked fine ! Thank you Thank you !!

Hi camera repair, I have a powershot a650is canon that doesnt power up. The camera shuts down after i have connected a cable plug from computer to canon's DC IN (4.3V) outlet. The camera was ON when i plug in the cable. Please help me... thanks

anonymous,I understand that the camera no longer powers up. And this occurred after inserting a power cable into the power outlet. Unfortunately, the chances are that you blew a circuit board fuse. Am saying unfortunately as these are internal to the camera, very tiny, and soldered to the circuit board. The average person cannot replace or repair these. The camera does require professional repair.

The A650IS is a VERY nice camera, and is very hard to find these days as Canon seems to have stopped producing the swivel LCD camera (tell you the truth, wished I had one). They actually are becoming valuable, if you look on Amazon at the prices for used A650's. As such, recommend contacting Canon and arranging repair. The repair cost may be up there, but worth it. Call 1-800-OK-CANON.CR

Thank you, thank you, thank you!! You saved me from throwing my VERY expensive samsung nv3 in the trash!! I was thinking of buying another battery because I thought it was that or the charging cord but decided to google. Glad I did! I've had my camera for about 3 years doing just great and suddenly it wouldn't charge at all or turn on. As soon as I took out the memory card and put it to charge it turned on and it works!! Thank you again!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!! You saved me from throwing my VERY expensive samsung nv3 in the trash!! I was thinking of buying another battery because I thought it was that or the charging cord but decided to google. Glad I did! I've had my camera for about 3 years doing just great and suddenly it wouldn't charge at all or turn on. As soon as I took out the memory card and put it to charge it turned on and it works!! Thank you again!

I hope you can help me. I have a Canon Powershot A540 which will not turn on and lens is stuck out extended. My daughter says her friend was taking pictures with the lens extended when the batteries died. I have tried your tips on trying new batteries, taking SD card out, etc. and none seem to have any effect. I have not tried replacing the date/time CR1220 battery but not sure if it was dead if that would cause it not to turn on. Any suggestions?

Anonymous,If you've tried all of the above, then it's likely an internal problem, and probably a blown fuse. Recommend calling it quits at this point for most people. These fuses are very tiny, internal to the camera, soldered to the camera's circuit board, and not replaceable by the average person. CR

Moments from tossing my Konica Minolta DiMage X1 in the trash I thought to do a web search on "screen dead but takes pictures" and discovered your web site. Maybe there's hope!

About six months ago I dropped the camera from my lap -- less than 2 feet (seated on steps, taking one of those once-in-a-lifetime photos of a gravel garden in Kyoto, Japan) and the screen went black. Crushed by the timing, I decided to give blind shooting a try: aimed the camera 'focusing' on subjects and shot. While it didn't occur to me to remove the SD card and turn the camera on and off without it, I later placed the card in a daughter's camera on the chance that the camera was still functional. The blind photos were some of my best!!!Just now I followed your recommendations, found that the screen/monitor now illuminates both without and with an SD card, but is blank (some faint striping). It neither shows the scene to be shot nor displays a photo already on a card. (I replaced the camera the following day with a Canon IXY 10.0 (Elph 770), but the manual is in Japanese! Fortunately, I've found the English version online.)

Wendy,Sounds like the screen cable connector has become either loose or dislodged from the fall. To repair this would require that you open the camera case. It is relatively simple to reseat a screen ribbon connector. But there is a risk of electrical shock, so if you do decide to proceed, make sure that you read the warnings section, and the post concerning flash capacitor shock.

This link lists procdures for entirely replacing an LCD screen. However, you would just proceed far enough to remove and reseat the cable in its connector, leaving the screen alone. The examples are mostly Canons, but it may be somewhat similar for you camera.CR

i have a insignia 7.0 mega pixel camera that i just got a month and a half ago for confirmation and I did all of the stuff you told me to and none of it worked now i am mad good job your little website got me madder because i had a camera before this and it wouldn't turn on and i am tired of getting a new camera i got so happy when i got this camera and i wanted to have it for the summer but no now i can't!!!!!!

Why are you attempting to repair your camera if it's less than a year old? If this is true, it should still be under warranty. AND if less than a month old (90 days if from WalMart), you should be able to easily take it back to the store of purchase to swap for a new camera.

But if more than a month old, call Insignia at 1-877-467-4289 to arrange repair. If you still don't have the manual, here's the warranty terms for your camera:

I got a Canon PowerShot A530 from my mother's school after it died with the lens extended. None of the simple fixes worked, so I had to get creative. I disassembled and resetted the lens mechanism (though later shown probably not necessary) and as it was still dead I started thinking of fuses. A block between the solder points for the battery cables to the main circuit bord and the rest of the components, marked only with digits, seemed an obvious starting point and after bypassing this the camera started! Just minutes later I happened to open the battery door with the lens extended by mistake, but after just closing it again the lens slided in when I turned the camera on. I guess my makeshift bridging soldering should be replaced with a real fuse sometime, but it's ok for now.

Below is an address to a picture of my fix, the fuse in question (marked 2.3.) is one closest to the bottom left of the picture, with my crappy soldering visible below it. The fuse was put back for the picture and is of course removed altogether. URL: http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p161/garmer/Personal/FuseFix.jpg

oly,If all the simple fixes failed, you were correct in assuming it was a blown fuse. And these tiny little things are very difficult to replace. They're installed primarily as a safety feature (prevent overheat/fire/exploding batteries) and are not intended to be replaced. As such, I can't recommend this procedure.

Having said that, I must confess that I have done the same in the past to get a camera going again. But I will keep this camera in my possession and never give it away, unless it's for parts. The fuse failed for a reason. Usually there's some difficulty with the lens extension, causing excessive current in the lens motor, blowing the fuse. Thus with a jumped fuse, the other problem may still exist, and you are running a risk of bad things happening without the fuse.CR

I have the same problem as the poster "steve" "I own a Canon PowerShot SD750 like some of the other posters here, and I haven´t found a solution. Same problem - it wont´t turn on - and I´ve tried fully charging the battery, taking out the memory card, everything I can think of. It was working just fine yesterday and I don´t recall anything happening to it.

I shook it to see if anything is loose inside and I hear a slight jingle when the camera is shaken at a certain angle."

I'm in dire need of help!!CAN U PLEASE HELP ME??!?! you've helped so many others!! thank you in advance!!

I cannot thank you enough. I am waiting for the new line of Panasonics to come out, so I have been borrowing a friend's Canon SD600 in the meantime. I charged the battery the other day and the camera would not turn back on when I put it in. I tried your trick for removing the memory card and pressing gently on the battery indicator with a pen. It worked! Thank you so much for this blog and for saving me from having to tell my friends that their camera died on my watch.

I have a Konica KD-20M which won't switch on. I have checked/tried everything as advised on this site but it still won't switch on. I am only trying to get to the photos that are saved on the internal memory (photos that mean a lot to my husband), I have no problems with the camera being destroyed in the process as it is an old camera. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks

My sd1000 seems to have a blown fuse; the lens is open and it still won't turn on with a freshly charged battery and no sd card. However, I was thinking: can it be a fuse in the BATTERY? I know many li-ion baterries have internal fuses. How can I test this? (besides buying a new battery to check to see if that works).

My Canon A550 and Canon A570 will not turn on. They were fine. We took batteries out to recharge. Didin't get back to them for a month (the cameras, not the batteries). Now, suddenly, will not turn on.

I have an A720 IS and it won't turn on. Tried new batteries, tried rechargeables. Checked the switch, etc. Any other ideas I can try? Camera is a little over a year old and out of warranty....please help.

HiI have a Canon Powershot A720 is it has no warranty and so when it would not open I tried your tips, none of these worked so I took off the back and apper to have a loose red wire at the top right. This obviously needs reattaching does anyone have an image of what this should look like so I am certain where it reattaches and does anyone know if this will solve the problem or is it a red hering.Thank you so muchCheshire, England

Helen,Sorry I couldn't respond sooner, but was on vacation. I really don't have any good disassembly guides for the A720. But here's an instructional video from Youtube showing LCD replacement for the camera. It may help you see where the red wire should go. However, you may need to solder it back to where it broke from.

I have a Nikon Coolpix S5 that I really like. I took a few pics with it a few days ago and put it back in the camera bag. It appeared to power down properly. Got it out an hour later and it would not power up. Battery fully charged and works in a friends camera. Picks came out on the SD Card. Any suggestions before I take it apart?

hi, i have a canon powershot sd750. last night, i was taking alot of pictures, so the battery died. i turned off the camera, but then i dropped it on the sidewalk.

the 'door'? for the battery and memory card opened when it fell. i fully charged the battery, but now my camera won't turn on. if i shake the camera gently i can hear a quiet rattling sound.

i read the post, and the the part about how it might be a problem with a switch on the door, and i think that might be the problem, since my camera usually won't turn on if the door is open, but i can't find it.. the door closes normally as far as i can tell.

My digital camera flip screen won't turn on when fully opened. If I hold it partially open the camera turns on and if I gently open it fully it will sometimes stay on and the camera is fully functional but more often when it gets to the full open position it will turn itself off. A friend thought it might be the screen cable if so how can I replace it?

I used Canon powershot sd900 at my daughter's award ceremony last week (battery fully charged). I took a picture of each award recipient ( but noticed that a small puff of smoke came from the flash with each use which has happened for the last 6 mos). In any event, I powered it off between pictures and - 1 minute after the last picture had been taken - I pushed the power button but nothing happened. (the camera had remained in my hand the whole time - working 1 minute and then not the next). Recharged battery - nothing. I have tried each of your troubleshooting tips (memory card, latch inside battery door etc) - but nothing has worked. Any tips?

I used Canon powershot sd900 at my daughter's award ceremony last week (battery fully charged). I took a picture of each award recipient ( but noticed that a small puff of smoke came from the flash with each use which has happened for the last 6 mos). In any event, I powered it off between pictures and - 1 minute after the last picture had been taken - I pushed the power button but nothing happened. (the camera had remained in my hand the whole time - working 1 minute and then not the next). Recharged battery - nothing. I have tried each of your troubleshooting tips (memory card, latch inside battery door etc) - but nothing has worked. Any tips?

I just about trashed my wifes PowerShot SD1100IS. Pulling the ram out did the trick. Was about to get agressive with the repair assuming it was toast, thus impossible to further damage... man was I wrong :D

Most of the time (especially in the older models - I doubt Jobs would have allowed something like this in the iPhone) they have an electromechanical sensor that detects ORIENTATION (if the camera is vertical or horizontal). The sensor usually has a little metal bead that shorts different contacts depending on the orientation/tilt/angle. The rattling noise you hear is from this sensor, not from some broken part (usually anyways, unless you dropped the camera or something).

I have a Pentax Optio s4i that I bought new around five years ago. Recently, I dropped it on the floor. Some time after that, the ON button stopped working. I brought it to Best Buy and they tested the battery and said it's fine. When I place it on the battery charger (just to see what might happen), at first a green light goes on around the ON button for a split second. But there's no change.

After reading the comments here, I tried removing the memory card and then pressing the ON button, but nothing happened.

Can you help me figure out what to do? I hate spending the money to mail it somewhere to be fixed. And I don't want to buy a new camera. Thank you.

sketchgrrl,I don't know what they're telling you at best buy, but it's very unlikely a rechargeable camera battery could still be good after five years. They're only meant to last a couple years max, regardless of their use. Would still suspect that your battery is the root cause of your problem. Fortunately, there are many inexpensive generic alternatives available for your battery. Unfortunately, some are better than others, so shop around.

Thank you so much for your helpful site!! Your info helped me figure out that my battery has died, and where to get replacements. Do you have any suggestions about how to evaluate the battery - the price range is from $1.88 to $46.70, and my instinct is that the cheap ones won't last, and I'd do better to pay for a something in-between. But the in-between ones might also be "cheap"! How should I figure out which one to buy?

erica, First of all, do NOT pay the ridiculously high priced "name-brand" battery. If you're searching on Amazon, you should find many inexpensive generic options available for your battery. Some of the generics will work just as well. But your caution is well-founded concerning the very cheap batteries. Chances are they have reached their shelf-life, and are being sold at this price for that reason. Your best bet is to read the buyer reviews. Look for a battery that has reasonable reviews, from more than one person.

THANKS! I fixed my Canon Powershot A550 by closing the battery door and then manually pushing the switch which is used to open the door. (Evidently the switch wasn't moving all the way back into place, and that caused the camera to think that the door was still open.) This blog post gave me the idea to check that. Thanks again!

I dropped my camera from about 2 feet and now it won't load pictures. It won't call up that initial window from the pc when I plug it in. Also, the USB port on the camera seems to accept the plug more easily than it used to. I think something is amiss with the USB port. Is this something I should even try to tinker with? Thanks, Dave

Dave,If the camera is still operating normally for all other features except downloading, then no I wouldn't mess with it. Recommend instead to consider using a USB card reader to download your photos. Please see this link.

I have a Canon s400 and it stopped working. The power button does nothing and I even replaced the battery pack with no luck. I tried all steps in the simple fixes section but no luck there either. Any other ideas?

I have a DSC W120 Cybershot; I dropped it. Now, when i push the power button, the lens comes out as if it will take a photo and then retracts. This happens a 3 times slowly then its stops and the message says "turn the power off and on again" - this has not solved the problem. I have charged the batter, taken out the picture card and nothing works.

IXUS75 wouldn't switch on. Sadly, your tips & tricks didn't work but they ruled out a few things which is often half the battle. It turned out to be just the battery not seating properly for some reason - too much play to one side. Solution - 2 strips/layers of masking tape down the RH side of the battery. BINGO !!!

I have a Canon PowerShot A720 IS and I have dropped it many times, but yesterday I pulled it out of my pocket and the case was coming apart. I was able to snap it back together. I powered it up and the lens started to pop out like normal, but then it stopped halfway and the camera died. When I pressed the power button the light would flash but it would not power up. Every once in a while after pressing the power button over and over, it would start up and then power off again.

I tried taking out the memory card and powering up the camera. It has worked fine every since. Thanks so, so, so much for the info. I had already begun shopping for a new camera.

I have a canon powershot sd780 is.I've only had it for just over a month and have barely used it.It stopped working lastnight, I thought it was my battery, even though I had brought 2 ones with me, tried turning it back on with each and it wouldn't work.My boyfriend said he turned it on lastnight after we got home though, but this morning it wont turn on again, i tried taking my memory card out, ive charged oth batteries, and the clip to hold the battery in place is still in tact.Not sure if theres anything that can help or if i should just send it back since it's stil under warranty.

Becky,If it's under warranty, it's time to contact Canon. One thing that can go wrong is a blown fuse. These fuses are internal to the camera, and not replaceable by the user (Canon should replace it). If in the US or Canada, call 1-800-OK-CANON for warranty repair.

this is the story with my powershot a520:dropped it on the lens while extended, dislodged it and smashed the lcd;could not pop the lens back in place, so i gave it to someone more experienced to take it apart.he fixed the lens problem and a large part of the lcd is still useful. However, the camera turns on, the mode dial works, the zoom ring and the shutter work, but none of the buttons on the back do.Nor does the switch for camera mode/play.Since the problem seems exotic compared to the ones above, I thought it was worth describing. Do you have any tips or a dissasembly guide I could use?I should also mention that the camera is out of warranty and calling canon is not an option for me.

T,It's a simple fix. If you could give it back to your friend. Ask him to just remove the back face. Then to firmly reseat the ribbon cable that's located just to the right of the mode/play switch. That should hopefully do it.

Thank you for your quick response!I opened it and it turns out that the flex connector was damaged during the fall.Do you happen to know if that cable is easily replaceable ?I'm asking because I have an opportunity to buy another defective A520 and thinking about transplanting that particular cable, if it is intact.

T,If it's only the connector, then yes it's easy. Just swap out the green button board that would have a new connector. There's only 4 screws holding it, and 2 flex cables, plus the plug for the speaker(you'll need tweezers to remove that).

But if the cable itself is damaged, this would be more difficult in that you'd need to dig deeper into the camera to replace not only the cable, but what it's attached to on the other end (can't remember at the moment).

Was wondering if you could ask your friend what exactly he did inside the camera to correct the lens error on your camera? Lens errors are a particular problem with this model, and I could never figure out why (could never find a mechanical reason in many excursions inside).

The cable itself has a small dent across three of the electrical wires. I think that they are severed. My friend told me to bring the camera back to him so he could look at the cable before buying the other one for parts. Do you think someone could redo the wiring in such a thin flexible cable?I also asked him about the lens, he just took it apart and put it back together correctly and he said that there is no other secret. The cause was mechanical in this case anyway, since I dropped the camera on the lens.Sorry I couldn't bring light upon the lens error mystery.

I have the canon G7 and I took 3 pics on Monday and the battery light was blinking so I turned it off, took the battery out and replaced it with one of my backup batteries. The camera would not turn on. I have tried all of the ideas above and nothing works. I have tried all 3 of my batteries in my canon video camera and they all work. I am at a loss of what to do. Nothing happens when I press either the on/off button or the play button in any of the ways listed, no sd card, yes sd card,e etc. Please help!

Hi, I just wanted to thank you so much for your part about the switch! I put a safety pin down to depress the switch and see if the camera would turn on AND IT DID. So I then put a little piece of rolled-up Post It note onto the switch. I used the safety pin to shove the paper into the hole, and success! The camera works perfectly.

i have this camera canon digital ixus75 and the problem is it can't be turned on at all and it happened two days ago. before that it was okay.

does it really have something to do with the battery? would it fix my camera if I replaced with a new battery? I've tried to charge the battery to its fullest but still the camera does not turned on. How can I fix it?

Anonymous,Are you seeing any flicker of life at all in the camera as you're trying to turn it on (a brief glimmer of light on the lcd or any of the other lights)? If so, then yes, it may be simply a problem of a bad battery. Your rechargeable battery is only meant to last a couple years maximum. Forunately, generic versions of the NB-4l are very inexpensive these days. Here's some examples from Amazon.

My Canon PS SD1100 IS works great for a few minutes and then goes dead. Recharging the battery doesn't revive it. But sometimes if I wait a few days and then try again (with a recharged battery), the camera comes back to life. I tried a new battery and new battery charger, but that didn't solve the problem. I tried putting the dead camera in the freezer (yah, crazy, but I thought maybe something had overheated) but that didn't help. Any suggestions?

Hi, I had a Nikon Coolpix 4300 completely dead. It stopped working with the lens fully open. I found on internet the service manual. It does not have a troubleshooting index so, once I found myself with the whole camera open, I tried looking for some extra information. I found this blog and the suggestion of the memory card slot pushed me to reassemble the camera and try. I realized after assembling that the battery contact point had little dirt accumulated (very tiny dot of dirt...or whatever it was)...just took it away, to ensure correct battery contact and VIOLA'!Thank you for the useful advices

My Sony CyberShot fell and still works when I charge the battery but the lens refuses to close. Do I have to force it closed for it to work again? I bought another camera (same) and it got wet with a little bit of water and wont turn on again. How do I fix it?

Hey! Im hoping you can save me $200. I have a Sony DSC-S780 that is out of warranty. It still works however, I was getting a timer picture taken and the wind blew--yes it fell. So the lens is stuck in the open position. So I bought another camera (still have the lens opened one). The new one Sony CyberShot DSC-S950 and some water was on a table where I set it down and now it wont turn on. AT ALL. its been a few months now and I just came across your website. Can you make some suggestions?

Becca,You can't do much for the water damaged camera. Once corrosion sets in, it's pretty much a goner. But for the camera that fell, please see this other article. You may have to resort to Fix #7, but at this point, you have nothing to lose.

SD1000 had a cracked LCDD screen and I was able to replace it. I check by powering up while the cover was off and it worked fine. I turned it off and left the battery in and finished assembling. After it was put together I get no power. I tore it back apart and still nothing. Any places to check before I consider it a blown fuse?

Oh my goodness! This blog was a godsend for me!! I'm on a two week family trip halfway around the world from where I live and I brought my digital camera and on the second day I COULDN'T TURN IT ON!! Thanks to your tip about not using alkaline batteries (which are the kind we bought) I was able to turn my camera on! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Anonymous,Sounds like the problem to begin with was that the switch's solder joints were very weak, and thus had a bad connection preventing the camera from turning on (this switch would have broken off with time). Pushing in on the switch in this case would not have helped. Repair would have required soldering the joints of the switch to restore connection. But now that the switch has broken off, recommend instead soldering a shunt (wire or piece of solder) across the connection where the switch was, in order to permanently close the connection. Of course this requires some knowledge of soldering. Don't try this yourself if you don't know how. Find a friend who has this knowledge if you don't.

Hi!My Canon G7 broke down. It won't turn on... I was feeding it with good photos etc. but unfortunately it got angry with me. I need a service manual for G7 so if you have one I would be grateful to you sending me it. I think, I would manage repair it myself. Thanks a lot in advance!Szymon,Polandmail: englishphilology(at)wp.plmail

I have a Sony Cybershot DSC-W350 and was really freaking out because it wouldn't turn on. Mind you, this is a camera with a lithium battery, which I had charged the night before. I saw a link to this and tried taking out the memory card and attempting to turn it on again. It worked! Somehow that was the problem. Perhaps I didn't have it in right, from taking it out to get pictures off. Thanks for the help, you are a life saver!

Hi there! Excellent blog with fantastic advice! I've got an issue of my own that I haven't quite figured how to proceed. I've got a Canon PowerShot A570 that won't power on under battery power, but will work if I use an AC adapter. I've tried all possible fresh NiMH battery configurations, but I don't get even the slightest peep from my poor poor camera! I've cracked her open and looked to see if there were any obvious issues, but no luck! All the door tabs seem to seat fine. I've measured that power is getting to the first set of leads off of the batteries to the camera. Is there anything I've missed?

I've got a Canon Powershot A75. The camera will power up for a few seconds only. I've tried new batteries, rechargeable, tried taking out the memory card. The camera will still no stay powered on. Is this Camera dead or is there hope? Thanks, Paul

I've got a Canon Powershot A75. The camera will power up for a few seconds only. I've tried new batteries, rechargeable, tried taking out the memory card. The camera will still no stay powered on. Is this Camera dead or is there hope? Thanks, Paul

I have a Canon A540. It will not power on with batteries, although it will power on with an AC power adapter! I've tried most of the tricks here. (Not sure I've read them all yet). Is there a know fix for this power problem?

My Canon Powershot A720IS died mid-shot. Image screen turned bright yellow, then the camera lost power, with the lens still open and extended. Tried new batteries, several sets actually, but it won't power on. Any idea what yellow distortion of the images immediately before power loss might mean? Think it's a goner?

I own a camera which is canon ixus 85IS. i just want to know on how will i fix it because it wont turn on even if the batteries are fully charged. I checked the switch and the nib thing but still i couldn't find a solution. please help ME!!!!

I own a Canon G9. One morning I got up early to shoot the morning sun on yellow leaves in RiTan Park in Beijing. I turned on the camera before leaving to make sure my battery was charged. When I got to the park (an hour away) the camera wouldn't power up! (needless to say I was upset). I tried all the things on here and finally took the camera to the Canon store. The battery plate inside the camera was dead. I'm happy it is fixed because I didn't want to spend money on a new camera! (so instead I spent 485元...about $70) Thanks for your site and encouragement. :)

Hello everyone! I owe a Canon A520, some time she bear a very strange problem: The camera don't power on ONLY WITH memory card, so say:1) with out a memory card inserted, I push on/off button the camera power on2) I open the memory card slot and, off coarse the camera power off3) I put the memory card and the camera don't power on, don't display any error, just don't power on4) I open the memory card slot and take off the card and close the slot and the camera power on!

I went mad with this, and I changed the battery shake and rock the memory card, push all buttons and nothing, I finally had the idea to take off the internal battery (some sort of reset!) and (without memory card inside) enter the config menus and reset every single set, and power off the camera, and put a memory card and Voila! The camera power on and I put a 2GB memory card, take a few pics and every thing looks O.K, but by now I don't belive in this camera, I think that as the problem come on and come out from nothing it can show another time, anyone have had this strange experience ?

I have a fiji film finepix s1500. i had left my camera in the car and i believe that the battries got cold enough to inhibt the production of an adequate charge. I started taking pics before work, dropped the camera with the zoom all the way out. The camera would not turn on. I warmed up the battries in my pocket and tried to turn it on with the memory card out, and to my supprise it turned on. It turned off quickly. Put fresh battries in and poof, like new.

Hello from Spain...Im sooooo sad... My Fujifilm Finepix Z5 doesnt turn on. I tried all the tips with the battery and the memory card....I think it maybe the problem from the cover you have to push to turn the camera on but have no idea of what to do. It didnt fall, it hasnt been in extreme conditions..I just put it to charge and after that even when the battery is completely charged It doesnt react.

I have tried all the above fixes except the fuse jumping or replacing with no luck I am working with a casio exilim z1050 its already down to all separate pieces if i could find the schematic for it to locate fuses and test i think i could finally fix it. the camera itself does show sign of life through a blinking light that is green for one blink then red the rest i did check the lens and found seat pins fine. open and closed the lens with 9v with no problems. so i have no clue whats left except maybe a fuse. any help would be great CAMERA REPAIR

Daniel,If it's showing some signs of electrical life (blinking lights), then it's not a fuse problem. Don't usually provide recommendations for repairs internal to the camera (too many people shock themselves on the flash capacitor, and might blame it on me). But since you've already opened the camera, recommend trying reseating all ribbon cables in their connectors.

WOW thanks you did respond! alright did try that three times i mean every single ribbon i could see. still no avail i know its not the battery since i just got a brand new one the other day and tried that. everything looks good. if its not the ribbons and not the fuses what else is there to try any nifty tricks to do process of elimination?

Daniel,If the ribbon reseating didn't fix it, then it's likely a failed component on one of the circuit boards. The blinking light sequence likely provides a clue of which board. Unfortunately you'd need the camera's repair manual for the camera to decipher the light sequence code. Most manufacturers treat these as highly confidential, but you might get lucky if you're very good at Googling. Also you'll need to find a parts donor camera for the circuit board once you've isolated the problem component. I usually use eBay, purchasing those particularly damaged cameras as parts cameras for a few bucks (their internal parts are usually still good). Good luck with your project!

Thank you very much i will see if i can come up on the code granted i dont see much of a sequence aside from rapid pulse with no breaks but its a great start and should be fairly simple once i crack that thanks for the starting point.

Hello! Thanks for your info. It helped me figure out what is wrong with my canon sd950. Now I just need help on how to get it fixed. The door pin switch is broken. It was very flimsy and when I tried to place it back in it broke and the teeny tiny spring sprung out and is mia. Is there a way to by pass it? Is there something me or my hubby may be able to do? Thanks! Alaska.......

Yes, there is something you can do, but it requires a little knowledge of soldering (find that friend or relative that likes to tinker). It can be easily fixed by soldering a shunt(short wire) across the switch's contact points insdie the camera. The switch is really not needed, and is mainly intended to shutoff power to prevent corrupting the memory card should the battery door be inadvertently opened.

Hello there, Alaska again, would you happen to have a picture of the inside of the camera where the shunt needs to be soldered? My hubby is a gifted handy man.....but he's not used to working on something so small. Thanks!

Alaska,See the comment above from Anonymous who fixed his problem with a toothpick (his was also broken off). Recommend trying that first. Also, while searching your issue, I came upon this advisory from Canon. If your camera serial number is listed, carefully put it back together and contact Canon as described in the advisory.

I have a pretty beat up Canon A620 PowerShot that would turn on then off. I thought the power button may have been the issue because if I held down hard on it that's when I would get power, but only for a second. Then I found this site and after monkeying around with the camera for a little while, I determined if I pressed down on the top right corner of the camera, I could get it to stay on, but if I let go or even took a little of the pressure off,the camera would turn off. Since that top corner is directly above the battery compartment, I thought the issue instead might be a battery contact problem. Following the advice in this article, I removed the batteries and slightly bent up the contacts at the bottom of the battery compartment, put the batteries back in and the issue has been resolved. Thank you!

i have a polaroid i634 digital camera that is 3-4 yrs. and it wont turn all for the life of me i cleaned the battery slots, i checked if the door slot would close properly but even so it wont turn on. i even bought batteries that you suggested it will turn on but then automatically turn off anymore tips or advise???

Many thanks ölyT for identifying the fuse on the Canon A570. My A720IS was dead, too; the fuse here was also marked "2.3" but was at top-left of main board. Like yours it connected to the main red battery lead (and the external power socket). Bridged it with pliers - the camera powered up on switch on. Soldered a wire across it and camera now appears to function fully. Agree with comment about lack of safeguard now - aim to only keep battery in camera when in use, and not to use external power pack. - David.

My 9 y.o. daughter saved up her money to purchase an Insignia Slim NS-DSC1112SL and was so excited to have her own camera. Unfortunately, it was dropped on a carpeted floor within her first week of ownership. Now the lens is stuck in a partially extended position. As long as the camera is turned on in the view position and then switched to camera, it will take photos, including with flash. However, attempting to zoom shuts the whole thing down. The pictures have a distorted, black smudge-like appearance on the right side of the screen. It almost appears as if the lens is bent or crooked. Any help???

I have a Canon PowerShot S45 and whenever i power it on it powers off within a few seconds. The red battery meter appears and a note at the bottom of the screen shows replace battery. I have 2 batteries and alternate them however is the same issue with both batteries. The batteries show full power when put on a battery tester. I want to buy a new Canon battery however at over $80 its not worth it as the camera is getting on in years. It takes great pics so i dont want to dispose of it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Hi, I just read your blog and I find it to be extremely helpful in repairing your camera on your own. I own an Olympus Stylus 7030 and 2 months ever since I've purchased it, it has not been turning on when I would power it on. I would then fix the problem by taking out the battery and inserting it back in. It would then turn on and work perfectly with no problems.Now it has come to a point that when I turn it on, the lens do not open and the screen lights up for a slit second and then it dies. I'm unable to take any photographs but am able to upload photos onto my computer with the USB cable. Is this due to the camera's malfunction? I'm surprised that this is happening because I never dropped it and it never underwent damage of any sort. I would really appreciate your advice on this issue. Thank you for your time.

I have a Canon SD1100 IS. Camera would not power on or off. Using the tip regarding the "nib" on the inside of the door to push into a switch, I put a small drop of Super Glue on the nib. Left the door open so the glue could dry and harden. Tested and worked. I assume nail polish might be substituted for Super Glue. I might have to treat the nib periodically.

I dropped my camera and it wouldn't turn on, I thought I'd have to replace it. But after reading this, I realized the little nib had broken off. After some fumbling around with sticky tape and a little piece of plastic I fixed it. Thank you!

Thanks in advance for any help you can give, I have been searching and trying to figure out why my camera batteries die so fast i have a canon powershot sx110is and i only buy good batteries i have 2 other camera so i know its a camera issue. can it be fixed? or is it even worth fixing? I do like this camera better than my other two! If i cant fix it i need to get reachable batteries for sure...lol thanks for your help debbie

Thank you a million times for your post about the post about batteries dying with lens still out.

A few months back I noticed my rechargeable batteries were on their last legs. I bought new ones but my PowerShot A620 would power on and then just die. Once it must have happened with the lens still out because I could no longer get the camera to power on at all.

Then I stumbled upon your blog, took the memory card out, powered on, and voilà! the camera powered on. I reinserted the memory card, and so far so good.

I now only have to see if the problem with my new batteries dying is still present, and if it is then I'll try some of the other steps (cleaning with rubbing alcohol, pulling contact plates up a bit...)

But for now, I'm just SOOOO thrilled that my cam is working again! Thank you! :D

Anonymous with the A620,I also own an A620 and had a similar problem of batteries dying early, although new. Found that one of the bottom battery terminals had been bent downward a little from years of repeated battery insertions. The result was its particular battery was depressed a little lower in the battery compartment than its other companions. As such, it made poor contact with the other side of the battery contact plate when the door was closed. This was an easy fix as all that I did was bend that particular terminal up a little to improve the contact. I've had this also happen with other 4 battery Canons. Just look for that one battery riding lower in the compartment than the others, and correct it.

I have an SD600 that wont turn on at all. I know the battery is fine, the microswitch for the batter door is fine and the battery contacts look fine as well. It just wont turn on at all. Any ideas? The lens is not stuck out it looks normal.

THAT TIP WAS AMAZING FOR THE "DEAD CAMERA,LENS OPEN" REPAIR INSTRUCTIONS. I WAS RECENTLY ON A WEEK LONG TRIP IN THE DESERT AND I BROUGHT THREE DIGITAL CAMERAS WITH ME AND ONE 35mm ,JUST IN CASE ONE BROKE AND LITTLE DO YOU KNOW ONE BROKE. THE BATTERIES DIED IN THE CAMERA, PUT A NEW SET IN AND IT WOULD NOT TURN ON.SO I WENT TO MY OTHER CAMERA,I USED THAT ONE FOR WHILE AND THE SAME THING HAPPENED TO THAT ONE. IT WOULD NOT TURN ON ONCE THE BATTERIES DIED IN IT EVEN WITH A NEW SET. I THOUGHT AFTER THE SECOND ONE BROKE THE SAME WAY I THOUGHT MAYBE THE SAND FROM THE DUST STORMS RUINED MY CAMERAS.I HAD NO IDEA WHAT IT COULD BE,SO I WAS DOWN TO MY LAST DIGITAL CAMERA. I USED IT VERY LITTLE BECAUSE I DID NOT WANT IT TO BREAK.SO NOW I'M ON MY WAY HOME AND I'M OUT OF THE DESERT. I STOPPED ALONG THE WAY BACK TO THE AIRPORT TO TAKE SOME PICTURES AND THE CAMERA BATTERY DIED AND WOULD NOT TURN ON WITH A NEW BATTERY IN IT. NOW I WAS REALLY CONFUSED, I HAD THREE DIGITAL CAMERAS AND ALL OF THEM BROKE THE SAME WAY. I WENT TO RADIO SHACK TO ASK THEM IF THEY MIGHT KNOW WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED TO THE CAMERAS AND THE GUY SAID I SHOULD TRY GOOGLING IT AND I DID. I DID JUST WHAT YOU SAID AND ALL THREE OF MY DIGITAL CAMERAS NOW WORK LIKE THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THEM. YOU SAVED ME A LOT OF MONEY, NOT ONLY IN BRINGING THEM TO A REPAIR PLACE BUT ALSO NOT HAVING TO BUY NEW ONES. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE INFORMATION YOUR AWESOME.

My Canon power shot A2000 worked perfect and out of the blue wouldn't turn on... mult. batteries.It had been to the beach but had worked since. After reading this i cleaned terminals with q tip and wiggled around the tiny switches, as they weren't broken or worn down.

After months of thinking I had no camera and missing photo ops on another beach in Cali, my camera is just fine!!! Seems a tiny grain of sand blocked a switch from full range of movement. THANK YOU!!!! I should have researched a few years ago before giving up on my A80. What a simple solution!?!

I know some advertise in my Adsense ads, but I really can't vouch for any of them as these ads are automatic from Google. If you do notice some repair sites in my ads, recommend also doing a Google search on their name to check their reviews.

Thank you very much! After the charger got misplaced for several months, I was not able to turn on my Kodak. I thought my camera is out for good because I replaced the battery but it still won't work. I followed your advice of removing the SD card and it work like a charm. Thank you very much!

Wow!!!! This was AWESOME!!!!!! I own a Kodak C140 I actually bought a another camera because I thought my camera was dead. Bringing my camera back to life was a little different I needed to connect my camera to my computer as well as put the SD card back in and new batteries But the long and short of it is that it worked!!!! I am so stoked. Thank you so much!!!

My Canon Sd750 won't turn. I tried fiddling with the switch and nib (last time it worked) but the switch (black part) came off. I'm using tweezers and trying to put it back on.Do you know which way it faces or how I could put it back on? I'd appreciate a close up picture of the switch.

Thank you so, so much. I was heartbroken when I dropped my camera the day we were putting up our Christmas tree this year. I just thought of all the missed moments that would be lost if that camera did not work. As I picked it up and turned it on, my heart sank as it did nothing. I was so upset at myself for the accident. Thankfully I stumbled upon your website and saw your mention of a door pin that could be the problem. Sure enough it was! I used a paper clip to test it and my camera that had been unresponsive since the fall, lit up! You saved me so much more than money. I know with this info my husband will now be able to rig it to work. I am thankful for the Christmas memories I will now be able to take because of it. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. It made a difference!:)

Hello,I've been reading your blog for the past hour to hopefully find a fix to my problem for my camera; the power button won't turn on/off the camera. In order for me to turn the camera on, I must remove/replace the battery. In order for me to turn off the camera and close the lens, I must remove/replace the memory card. I'm not sure if there is a camera malfunction or if my battery is about dead? My camera is older; canon powershot sd630 with a rechargeable battery.. any help would be great!!

hi, ok gonna confess my big error here. i left my samsung ES17 unattended for an extended period of time with the batteries in (ordinary duracel if that makes a difference?) now i think they leaked. or maybe it was the fresh batteries i put in when i started using it again as they were also sitting around for quite a while. anyway the camera still works but any battery i put in dies very quickly, plus if i leave batteries in it overnight, even fresh ones, then they completely drain out. is there anyway to fix this or have i completely messed my camera out?

Hi my G9 wont power up. I know its not from the loose screws issue. It happened after i tried to put thread locker on all screws inside. When i was reattaching the ccd sensor to the main board their was a bright flash and now it wont work. Bought a new main board straight from canon and it still doesnt work. Any help is appreciated thank you.

Charlotte,You can jury-rig just about anything to act as that nib. A quick (although not optimal) fix is to simply roll up a tiny piece of paper about the same size as that nib, and to just insert it in there to keep the opposing switch open.Good luck,CR

It seems that the pin switch has busted off by the battery door where the nib goes into which causes the batteries to die if left in..is there a fix for the switch or should I send it over to a professional? Any help would be great!

Any suggestions will be gladly taken! I have a canon powershot 3500 IS Digital ELPH which is just over a year old. Unfortunately, it may have gotten a little bit wet while we were on our honeymoon. The camera will not respond to on/off, and the lens is open. We took the battery out and memory card as well, and let the unit dry. It does look like it could use a swab to clean the battery compartment out, but it doesnt look bad. Please help! This was a spendy camera!

Hi, I have a canon powershot A95. that doesn't seem to be getting enough power, some but not enough. It will turn on only if the putton is on camera & the viewer screen is turned (so you can't see the picture) But shuts off soon as you open the viewer door or move the button to view previous pictures or to download. It will take pictures and even the flash works - though I can't see or download these pictures. I just recently got the camera back from sending it to canon for a recall - don't remember the recall, just that my pictures were blurry & pink.I would appreciate any help you may send my way.Thank you,Rose

Rose,Believe that Canon provides a 90 day warranty on the repair. If you just recently had it repaired for the CCD advisory, contact them again. Tell them the problem that you're experiencing since receiving the camera back from them. Call 1-800-OK-CANON if in US or Canada.CR

Anonymous,Are you sure that your camera has capable of being recharged via the USB port? For example, NONE of the Canon cameras have this capability. For all Canon's, the batteries must be removed and charged in an external charger.

Thank you so much for your wonderful website of great advice and useful links =) I managed to recover all my photos from my faulty SD card - these were from my travels and contained many sentimental moments which money could never buy back. You are a legend!!!

Thank you once again, I'm so appreciative of your generosity and kindness!

I have been without a camera for some time now as my Canon PowerShot SD970 IS would not turn on. I was researching new cameras and came across one of your videos (as many reviewers seem to be having lens errors with the new Canon S100), and then your site. I followed your instructions to simply power the camera on without the memory card inserted, and Viola! I have a camera again! Next I will try fixing my wife's older camera which has a lens error :) Thank you so much!!!

Ah thank you so much! I have the SD750 and it just decided to not turn on one day. I seriously had tried three different batteries and other things to try to get it to turn on. But taking the memory card out and putting the battery in helped. I now don't have to buy a new camera. Thanks so much!

Wow thanks man helped a lot I thought I fucked up my brand new camera already :D good thing I saw this because i would've taking it to a repair shop and pay money for a battery problem. :P That would've been really dumb I have a COOLPIX L810 it's a sharp camera glad I didn't lose her only after a week of usage :O . I will recommend this to my friends and family

I need some help for my Canon SX 120IS -I dropped my camera and its lcd got cracked. The camera was still working with distorted and cracked lcd. I bought lcd from ebay and installed it my camera. When i assembled camera again. It did not turn ON. I tried couple of times re-installing lcd and camera also got started once but thats it! Again it did not turn ON even after trying couple of times.

Could you please suggest some help on this? Would appreciate your guidance.

Canon powershot sx30 suddenly stopped working after having used it aprox. 10 times. It won't go on. Battery is an original canon, fully charged and makes a connection. There is a little click sound when turned on when the battery is in, but doesnt do anything. Sending it back to Holland where i bought it and have the canon team examine it,would be too expensive for me, since there is no warranty left. My husband has a fine-technician's education and can work with fuses and mechanisms. Can we somehow open it and try to look and fix it ourselves. Ifso, do you have tips?

I have a fujifilm xp10 and it is currently not working. I have replaced battery and still is not working I don't know why I was just using it and it decided to die all of a sudden. Can you help me please? The xp10 is a waterproof, freeze proof etc. so if someone can pls help me I would really appreciate it

Nikon Coolpix S6150. "DEAD CAMERA,LENS OPEN" worked for me. Although weirdly enough my lens wasn't open when the camera died. Anyways, much thanks for the solution. But the thing is, the SD card removal turns on the cam. But when I put the SD card back in, the damn thing just won't turn on.

Canon SD630 would not power up & the lens was stuck in the open position. I tried your advice on pressing down on the battery door. Guess what...it worked. The microswitch is damaged. Now I need to figure out how to rig it permanantly. Many Thanks!!!

My Cannon Powershot A2000 IS would not stay powered on. After charging all of the batteries in the house and having no success, I found your article about camera repair. I followed your recommendation about removing the memory card and I am happy to report that the camera is working great. Thank you!

check the battery cover closed switch.For the ixus 210 it is located on the right site ( and than front side) On the cover a small corner is broken so the switch is not actuated.you can actuate it with a fine screwdriver to see if it helps.

Ahmed,Unlike many other cameras, Canon rechargeable batteries are always charged by removing the battery from the camera, and inserting the battery into an external charger. The USB port of Canon cameras are used only for the downloading of photos to your computer. From what I understand, you attempted to charge the battery by plugging a powered cable into the USB port of the camera? If so, I fear that you may have burnt one of the safety fuses in the camera. Unfortunately these fuses are only intended to prevent a fire, and are not designed to be user replaced. They are located very deep inside the camera, are not easy to replace, and require professional repair to do so. I'm sorry that I don't have better news for you.CR

I just 'fixed' my camera. The batteries are acting strange. I've been using them to power a set of small fairy lights and then recharging them daily. They seem to charge ok but for some reason they don't work good in the camera anymore. Phew. Your tips got me in the right direction because I tried running the camera from the 5v dc plug using a transformer. It ran ok on the transformer, leading me to think more about the batteries. It is odd that the batteries run the fairy lights ok every day but also acted up in a portable cd player yesterday.

Marthand King,How old is the battery? Even though it appears to have charged, if it's two years or older, it may be time for replacement. Rechargeables go bad with age, whether you use them or not. The symptoms that you describe really sound like a low power startup issue. Recommend checking Amazon. As Samusng used the BP-70A battery widely throughout its camera line, you can purchase generic versions of this battery at very low cost.CR

Thank you! My Canon Powershot A70 was not powering up. It ended up being the switch on the battery door. It doesn't slide over like it should but after reading your info I found that if I push the release backward it now sees the door is closed and powers up.It was not sliding over smoothly, but pressing the door in, made the swith slide smoothly. Very precision built instrument.

My daughter's Canon PowerShot SX120 was dropped. It stayed dead until I noticed the micro switch on the battery door was jammed down. I popped it up and the camera started working again. THANKS for the advice!!!

I fixed my A630 , which was not powering on, after reading the comments here. It took a few minutes to figure out the problem - the batter door was missing a connector - must have fallen off. I have put a metal wire in its place and closed the lid carefully, and it got the camera back on. I will replace the wire with better stuff later.

Hi. I have a Panasonic DMC-FZ47. I have only recharged the battery about 12 times, and used it on a recent trip. When I got home, the switch was on and the camera wouldn't work. Not sure if the switch was left on or if it got switched on in the camera bag during the flight.

I charged the battery over night (the charger shows that the battery is fully charged now) and reinstalled it in the camera, but still nothing - no lights, beeps, lens movement, or anything showing that the camera has a battery at all.

I did manage to test the battery with a multimeter, and the voltage tested slightly higher than the battery rating.

Nothing else looks amiss, the camera was not dropped or anything, and my only option from Panasonic is to send it to Texas, pay $100 to have it looked at, and hope that they can fix it.

Any more ideas for troubleshooting before I either do that or go buy myself a new camera?

Hi. I have a Panasonic DMC-FZ47. I have only recharged the battery about 12 times, and used it on a recent trip. When I got home, the switch was on and the camera wouldn't work. Not sure if the switch was left on or if it got switched on in the camera bag during the flight.

I charged the battery over night (the charger shows that the battery is fully charged now) and reinstalled it in the camera, but still nothing - no lights, beeps, lens movement, or anything showing that the camera has a battery at all.

I did manage to test the battery with a multimeter, and the voltage tested slightly higher than the battery rating.

Nothing else looks amiss, the camera was not dropped or anything, and my only option from Panasonic is to send it to Texas, pay $100 to have it looked at, and hope that they can fix it.

Any more ideas for troubleshooting before I either do that or go buy myself a new camera?

Hi. I have a Panasonic DMC-FZ47. I have only recharged the battery about 12 times, and used it on a recent trip. When I got home, the switch was on and the camera wouldn't work. Not sure if the switch was left on or if it got switched on in the camera bag during the flight.

I charged the battery over night (the charger shows that the battery is fully charged now) and reinstalled it in the camera, but still nothing - no lights, beeps, lens movement, or anything showing that the camera has a battery at all.

I did manage to test the battery with a multimeter, and the voltage tested slightly higher than the battery rating.

Nothing else looks amiss, the camera was not dropped or anything, and my only option from Panasonic is to send it to Texas, pay $100 to have it looked at, and hope that they can fix it.

Any more ideas for troubleshooting before I either do that or go buy myself a new camera?

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Why this Blog?

PLEASE READ THIS !Oh no! You've dropped your digital camera. And it's out of warranty. And repair costs more than the camera is worth. What to do short of tossing the camera (or selling on ebay)? Well, believe it or not the average person has a good chance of diy fixing that camera themselves. All they'll need for most cases is some patience, and a little background knowledge. The intent of the posts on this blog are to help provide that knowledge.

But now for the WARNINGS! Many of the repairs posted here should only be considered as a last resort for a broken camera that would otherwise be considered for disposal. Also please consider those repairs that require removing the camera case to also require some electrical background and knowledge, and should not be attempted by anyone unfamiliar with basic electrical components and safety precautions.

Make sure you read this post and are aware of the potential DANGER OF SEVERE ELECTRICAL SHOCK should you decide to proceed with a "do it yourself" repair that involves removing the camera case.

WHAT YOU READ HERE IS NOT PROFESSIONAL ADVICE. Most of the posts and comments in this blog come from amateur repair hobbyists (INCLUDING MYSELF). Take the advice with a grain of salt. YOU MAY ACTUALLY MAKE MATTERS WORSE by following what you read here. Many of these repairs will almost certainly VOID YOUR CAMERA'S WARRANTY.

It's ultimately YOUR RESPONSIBILITY should YOU DECIDE to try some of the repairs posted here.

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